Patrick Stewart and Chiwetel Ejiofor shared the limelight at the 2007 Critics' Circle Theatre Awards held earlier this week when the John And Wendy Trewin Award For Best Shakespearean Performance was jointly awarded for the first time in its six-year history.
John Peter, who presented the award to Ejiofor described his performance "the most profound and greatest performance of Othello that I have seen since 1964" referring to Lawrence Olivier's acclaimed performance of the role at the National Theatre. Profound as his performance was, though, it didn't quite manage to eclipse Stewart's brawny Macbeth in the eyes of the critics. Jane Edwardes (Time Out) paid tribute to Stewart's brave interpretation of the bard's classic anti-hero; a performance so believable the audience was powerlessly drawn, she said, "into a nightmarish journey to evil". 
The coveted Best Actor award went to Charles Dance for his performance in Shadowlands, described by Georgina Brown (Mail on Sunday) as "like watching winter turn into spring". Dance made the most of his theatrical pedigree by using the opportunity to tease the collected critics. Whipping out a list of the most scathing reviews he'd received over the years and proceeding to read them out. The list culminated in an accusation of “blandness” levelled at him by Charles Spencer – chairman of the Critics’ Circle and, of course, signatory on his “Best Actor” award.
Anne-Marie Duff was a good deal less controversial in accepting the award for Best Actress, choosing instead to thank her supporting cast in Saint Joan for being “the most incredible parachute” in a production she described as a “leap of courage”.
The ceremony, which was held in the commodious bar of the Prince of Wales Theatre, was an endearingly eccentric affair with many a trembling hand clutching crib-notes for dear life. A rare chance, as Spencer noted, for the actors to see the "faces usually hidden behind the footlights".
It was a soapbox opportunity of which many of the speakers took full advantage - volubly endorsing the recent vote of no confidence in the Arts Council. Perhaps the most vehement voices were those of Nicholas de Jongh (Evening Standard) and Ian Shuttleworth (Financial Times) whose battle cry "bring me the still beating heart of Peter Hewitt [Arts Council Chief Executive] on a platter" was considerably more bloodthirsty than the conventional flattering pre-amble to presenting an award such as "Most Promising Newcomer". Still, Leanne Jones, newfound star of Hairspray, accepted the award with characteristic bright-eyed enthusiasm, sweetly reminding us that “dreams really can come true”.
The full list of winners in the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards 2007:
Best New Play
A Disappearing Number by Simon Mc Burney and Complicite
Plymouth Theatre Royal, Warwick Arts Centre, Barbican Theatre
The Peter Hepple Award for Best Musical
Hairspray
Shaftesbury Theatre, London
Best Actor
Charles Dance in Shadowlands
Pre-London tour, Wyndham’s Theatre, Novello Theatre
Best Actress
Anne-Marie Duff in Saint Joan
National Theatre
The John and Wendy Trewin Award for Best Shakespearean Performance (awarded jointly)
Chiwetel Ejiofor in Othello
Donmar Warehouse
&
Patrick Stewart in Macbeth
Minerva Theatre, Gielgud Theatre
Best Director
Rupert Goold for Macbeth
Minerva Theatre, Gielgud Theatre
Best Designer
Rae Smith & Handspring Puppet Company for War Horse
National Theatre
Most Promising Playwright
Polly Stenham for That Face
Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
The Jack Tinker Award for Most Promising Newcomer
Leanne Jones in Hairpsray
Shaftesbury Theatre
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